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Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz ( Omaha ( Nebraska ), May 10 1899 - Los Angeles , June 22 1987 ) was an American film - and Broadwayballroom dancer , singer and actor . He is often mentioned in the same breath with Ginger Rogers , with whom he made ten films. Content * 1 Biography ** 1.1 Youth ** 1.2 Career * 2 Filmography * 3 Television Work * 4 Honours * 5 Trivia * 6 Others about Astaire Biography Youth "Astaire" was a name he and his sister Adele had assumed for their vaudeville act when they were about 5 years old. It is said that the name comes from an uncle who had L'Astaire as a surname. In the twenties Fred and Adele performed regularly in Broadway theaters, this ceased in 1932 when she married her first husband, Lord Charles Cavendish, a son of the Duke of Devon . There's a famous story about the RKO Pictures screen test of Fred Astaire, which was rejected with "Can not sing. Can not act. Being a bit bald. Can dance a little." Many of the millions of fans of his films that he thought this might be a good dancer. Cole Porter wrote several songs specifically for him. Career He first worked with Ginger Rogers in his second film Flying Down to Rio. The combination of the two dancers and the choreography by Hermes Pan meant that dance was an important element of the Hollywood film musical . Other films with Rogers are The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935) and Carefree (1938). He also worked with other stars, notably with Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn (1942) and Blue Skies (1946). After he retired from show business that year, he soon returned to the big screen to the role of the injured Gene Kelly to take over in Easter Parade (1948) opposite Judy Garland and Peter Lawford . Later he played in The Band Wagon (1953) with Cyd Charisse . Although he continued acting after giving up dancing, and appeared in such films as On the Beach (1959), Finian's Rainbow (1968) and The Towering Inferno(1974), where he gave his only Oscar nomination received for Best Supporting Actor. His last film was the film Ghost Story (1981). Fred Astaire died in 1987 from the effects of pneumonia and is just as Ginger Rogers buried in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth , California . Filmography * Dancing Lady (1933) * Flying Down to Rio (1933) (*) * The Gay Divorcee (1934) (*) * Roberta (1935) (*) * Top Hat (1935) (*) * Follow the Fleet (1936) (*) * Swing Time (1936) (*) * Shall We Dance (1937) (*) * A Damsel in Distress (1937) * Carefree (1938) (*) * The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) (*) * Broadway Melody of 1.94 thousand (in 1940) * Second Chorus (1940) * You'll Never Get Rich (1941) * Holiday Inn (1942) * You Were Never Lovelier (1942) * The Sky's the Limit (1943) * Yolanda and the Thief (1945) * Ziegfeld Follies (1946) * Blue Skies (1946) * Easter Parade (1948) * The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) (*) (*) With Ginger Rogers * Three Little Words (1950) * Let's Dance (1950) * Royal Wedding (1951) * Belle of New York (1952) * The Band Wagon (1953) * Daddy Long Legs (1955) * Funny Face (1957) * Silk Stockings (1957) * On the Beach (1959) * The Pleasure of His Company (1961) * The Notorious Landlady (1962) * Finian's Rainbow (1968) * Midas Run (1969) * Santa Claus is Comin 'To Town (voice of postman) * Just One More Time (1974) * That's Entertainment! (1974) (narrator) * The Towering Inferno (1974) * The Lion Roars Again (1975) * That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) (narrator) * The Amazing Dobermans (1976) * The Purple Taxi (1977) * Ghost Story (1981) * George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1985) (documentary) Television Work * General Electric Theater (1953-1962) ** Episode 147: "Imp Cobweb on a Leash" ( December 1st 1957 ) ** Episode 185: "Man on a Bicycle" ( January 11 1959 ) * Oscars 1958 ( 26 March 1958 ) * An Evening with Fred Astaire (1958) (dance special) * Another Evening with Fred Astaire (1959) (dance special) * Astaire Time (1960) (dance special) * Alcoa Premiere (1961-1963) (as host) * Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963-1967) ** Episode 30: "Think Pretty" ( October 2 1964 ) * Oscars 1965 ( April 5 1965 ) * Dr. Kildare (1961-1966) ** Episode 153: "Fathers and Daughters" ( November 22 1965 ) ** Episode 154: "A Gift of Love" ( November 23 1965 ) ** Episode 155: "The Tent-Dwellers" ( November 29 1965 ) ** Episode 156: "Going Home" ( November 30 1965 ) * The Hollywood Palace (1964-1970) ** Episode 60: ( February 10 1965 ) ** Episode 74 ( January 22 1966 ) ** Episode 81: ( March 12 1966 ) ** Episode 88: ( April 30 1966 ) * The Fred Astaire Show (1968) (dance special) * It Takes a Thief (1968-1970) ** Episode 46: "The Great Casino Caper" ( October 16 1969 ) ** Episode 49: "The Three Virgins of Rome" ( November 6 1969 ) ** Episode 53: "The Second Time Around" ( December 4 1969 ) ** Episode 64: "An Evening with Alister Mundy" ( March 9 1970 ) * Oscars 1970 ( April 7th 1970 ) * The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970) * Santa Claus Is Comin 'to Town (1970) (voice) * Fred Astaire Salutes the Fox Musicals (1974) * Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire: A Couple of Song and Dance Men (1975) * The Easter Bunny Is Comin 'to Town (1977) (voice) * A Family Upside Down (1978) * Battlestar Galactica ** Episode 11: "The Man With Nine Lives" ( January 28 1979 ) * The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979) Honours Astaire in Royal Wedding * 1950 - Golden Globe as "Best Leading Actor - Musical / Comedy" for Three Little Words * 1958 - Emmy Award as "Best Leading Actor" for An Evening with Fred Astaire * 1959 - Dance Magazine Award * 1960 - Nominated for an Emmy Award for Another Evening with Fred Astaire * 1960 - Golden Globe for his entire oeuvre * 1961 - Emmy Award "Best Program" for Astaire Time * 1965 - George Award * 1968 - Nominated for an Emmy Award for The Fred Astaire Show * 1975 - Golden Globe for "Best Supporting Actress" BAFTA- and David di Donatello 's for The Towering Inferno * 1978 - Emmy Award for "Best Actor - Drama / Comedy Special" for A Family Upside Down * 1978 - Honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences * 1978 - National Artist Award from the American National Theatre Association * 1981 - Lifetime Achievement Award from the AFI * 1987 - Shoe Capezio Dance Award (with Rudolf Nureyev ) * 1989 - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumous) * 1991 - buried in "the Ballroom Dancer's Hall of Fame" (posthumous) Trivia * Astaire is one of the celebrities who can be seen on the cover of the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles . Paul McCartney grew up with the music of Astaire. Others about Astaire * Frank Sinatra : I have only one thing to say about Fred, he's probably the best dancer I have ever seen during my years in show business! * Audrey Hepburn : He had style. His habits were regular banal, and worse, extremely elegant, because he had class. Or was he nice? I think he had charm, and charm is the most beautiful in the world, right? * Michael Jackson : No one will ever Mr. Astaire able to match, but I never stopped trying to imitate him; it's his style, all aspects of his art: he practices and practices until he can as he wants it. Category:American tap dancer Category:American film actor Category:Pseudonym Category:1899 births Category:1987 deaths